Heat sinks are an important component in many devices, particularly in semiconductor devices, where smaller device-geometries in more powerful circuits generate more heat in a smaller area. Overheated components often fail and must be replaced, an expensive and time-consuming process.
Many heat sinks contain channels that span the entire length of a heat-generating device. These heat sinks suffer from several drawbacks. For example, these heat sinks do not allow heat-absorbing materials to be concentrated in a specific area. These heat sinks also suffer from pressure drops along the length of the channels, preventing a uniform flow of a cooling material along the channel. Also, because the channels span a relatively long distance, after they absorb heat along a first section of the channel, they are less able to absorb heat along later sections of the channel. The heat-absorbing ability of the cooling material circulating along the channel is thus diminished, and the heat-generating device is not sufficiently cooled.
Accordingly, there is a need for a structure and method of circulating a cooling material within a heat exchanger to overcome these and other disadvantages when cooling a heat-generating device.